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The children will play a game of Wheel of Misfortune and a Memory Verse Game to help them learn the story of Joseph and apply the lessons of the story to their own lives.
Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 7:9
At the end of the session, the students will know God’s Spirit can help them be faithful.
Bible Background is found here.
Lesson
Opening:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. You may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.
Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we are going to play a game similar to the Wheel of Fortune to help you remember the story of Joseph and learn that God’s Spirit can help you be faithful.
Scripture/Bible Story:
Instruct the children to open their Bibles to Genesis 37 and tell them that this is where the Bible story is located. As the children begin to look up the passage, tell them that the Bible is divided into two parts, the Old and New Testaments. Also tell them that Genesis is the first book of the Bible and the first book of the Old Testament.
After locating the passage, have the children close their Bibles and put them away. Tell them that because the Bible passage is such a long passage for this lesson you will be reading a version of the Bible story from a Bible story book that makes the story easier to listen to. When the children hear the word “brothers” they will say “Mumble, mumble, mumble” as if they are angry.
Read the story from God’s Story, by Karyn Henley. [Note: This paraphrase of the Bible story refers to Joseph’s brothers, but does not tell the reader that Joseph had 11 brothers. Also, this paraphrase refers to Potiphar as the captain of the king’s guard, but does not give his name. Include these two pieces of information when you read the story. There are questions about this information in the game.]
With game show enthusiasm, explain that this activity is called “Wheel of Misfortune.” Divide the class into two groups. The game is played like hangman, except players must answer a question related to the story or life application or do an activity in order to choose a letter.
Choose a group to begin and have a group member come up and spin the spinner. If the spinner lands on ‘Bible,’ the group must answer a question from Bible category. (Allow the children to use their Bibles to find the answers to the questions, if needed.) If the spinner lands on ‘Life,’ the group must answer a question from the Life category. If it lands on ‘Wild Card,’ all of the group members must do what the Wild Card instructions say (from the Wild Card List).
Make sure the children answer questions and choose letters as a group (help them to agree, if necessary) so no one is singled out or left out.
If the group correctly answers the question or follows the Wild Card instructions, then they may guess a letter for the puzzle. If they guess a letter that is in the puzzle, write the letter in the correct blank(s) on the transparency. If the group guesses a letter that is not in the puzzle, list it on the side or bottom of the transparency to remind the groups of the letters already guessed.
The next group then has a turn to spin the spinner and answer a question. Continue in this manner until all the letters of the puzzles have been filled in and the phrase is revealed. Do not allow anyone to guess the phrase ahead of time. Once they know the phrase they can choose letters more accurately, but the point is to review all the Joseph story questions, not to figure out the phrase first. Each turn consists of a spin, answering the question, picking a letter (unless the question is answered incorrectly), and trying to solve the puzzle. A timer might help to move the game along. Repeat questions or write more if necessary.
Phrases used (add more if necessary):
God is always with me.
I can talk to God.
God is my faithful friend.
Joseph is one of Jacob’s twelve sons.
FIELD TEST NOTE: The older children became bored once they knew the answer if they had to keep saying letters until all the letters were filled in. So let them say what it is when they know it and have plenty of transparencies with phrases related to the story prepared.
Before playing the memory verse game, make sure the children understand what the Bible verse means ~ Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV . Make sure they understand the words faithful, covenant, and generations.
9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
In advance:
Divide the Bible verse into several parts (more for the older children and less for the younger children) and write the parts on strips of paper. Make two sets of the Bible verse. Place a set of strips each into a paper bag.
Game Directions:
(Adapted from God’s Story and Me by Karyn Henley)
When Joseph was living in Egypt he was very far away from home. He didn’t have his father or mother to tell him what to do. The people in Egypt did not believe in God. There was no one around Joseph to tell him to obey God or to do what was right.
I wonder why Joseph might have been tempted to disobey God?
Did Joseph obey God and do what was right anyway?
Joseph knew God and knew God’s rules. Joseph didn’t turn away from God. No matter what happened, people could trust Joseph to do what God said was right. Joseph was faithful.
Closing:
Ask God to help the children be faithful to Him no matter where they are or what has happened to them.
Additional Suggestions:
You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas, in addition to the suggestions in the lesson plan:
Older children:
add more phrases to solve.
if more questions are needed, review the memory verses from the past year. For example, give half of one of the verses and the citation and have them finish the verse. (They may use their Bibles to look up the verse, if they wish.)
Younger Children:
Fill in some of the letters of the puzzle so the children do not have to guess as many letters. You may also want to give the children a handout of the puzzle so they can try filling in letters to decide in advance what letters they would like to guess when it is their team’s turn.
Assign the Workshop Leader and Shepherd to be readers for each group in the memory verse game.
Add an extra game if interest in the Wheel of Fortune game dwindles: “The Beautiful Coat Game,” which you can find in the Preschool Lesson set by Amy Crane, under Day 1.
Journal Activity:
Younger: Draw a picture of a time when you did something the way God wants you to even though no one was around to remind you to obey God.
Older: Write a prayer telling God about a situation where it is hard to obey Him and ask Him for help in being faithful.
Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker or some memento to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story or activity.
You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish their journals quickly, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games.
This lesson was written by Jamie Senyard for River Community Church.
Prairieville, Louisiana.
Copyright 2003 Jamie Senyard. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability and fix broken links.
Summary of Lesson Activities:
Children will navigate through an obstacle course to remind them of some of the setbacks and victories of Joseph’s life. If time allows they will also participate in an activity that will help them identify times in their own lives when they need God’s help. (Adapted from Promiseland: Live the Adventure.)
Scripture & Memory Verse & Objectives for the Rotation:
Refer to this post.
Additional objectives for the Games Workshop - At the end of the session, the students will:
Bible Background is found here.
Preparation and Supplies:
Room set-up:
Lesson
Opening:
Greet the children and introduce yourself.
We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.
Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today you are going to walk through an obstacle course. Each of the stations in the course represent a setback or victory in Joseph’s life. (Make sure the children understand the meaning of a setback and a victory---especially the K-1st grade class.) God worked everything for good in Joseph’s life, even the setbacks, because Joseph loved God
Scripture Reading / Bible Story:
Instruct the children to open their Bibles to Genesis 40-47 and tell them that this is where the Bible story is located. As the children begin to look up the passage, tell them:
After locating the passage, have the children close their Bibles and put them away.
The passage is too long to read so you are going to tell the story in your own words as you walk through the obstacle course.
Listed below are key points to include in your story. Actions to perform at each station are in parenthesis. Tell the children to listen for the times in Joseph’s life when God helped him overcome difficult situations.
Ask the children if they can identify the times when God helped Joseph overcome difficult situations.
Say: These situations were not fun for Joseph, but today we are going have fun remembering the times when God helped Joseph overcome difficult situations.
Now the children will navigate through the obstacle course one at a time.
This activity is adapted from Making Scripture Memory Fun from Group Publishing.
Begin by asking the children:
Say: It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live. At some point, something difficult or unpleasant is going to happen in your life. It’s just as true that good and pleasant things will happen to everybody at some time. But God has promised us that no matter what happens he’ll be working in our lives. The memory verse tells us what God will do with the good and bad situations of our lives.
Read the verse together. Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (NLT)
Ask the children:
Repeat the verse again.
Say: Now let’s look back at some of the situations that we listed before. Use your imagination to consider and ponder how God might turn your difficult or unpleasant situations into good. For example, if you flunk a test you might learn that you need to study more the next time.
Recite the verse together one more time.
Closing:
Thank God for being in control of every circumstance and for taking care of us by working for our good. Pray about specific concerns listed on the board during the Memory Verse time.
Journaling
For younger children: Draw a picture of a time that God use some hard time in your life for good. If you cannot think of a situation you can draw a picture of something we talked about during the memory verse time. Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a sticker or some memento to paste in their journal as a reminder of the story or activity.
For older children: Describe a hard situation that you have been in during your life and what you learned because of the experience.
You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children who finish if you need to fill n extra time, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games.
A lesson written by Jamie Senyard for River Community Church
Prairieville, Lousiana
Copyright 2003 Jamie Senyard. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message and source is included.
Photo from Luanne Payne, Hampton United, Hampton, ON
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.
Originally posted by member LDM.
Outdoor Joseph's Games
Neil’s Outdoor Game suggestions for Joseph Rotation
1. Joseph’s Fashion Frenzy – dress up relay
2. Sheep Scamper - like Octopus
3. Sons of Jacob Vs Egyptians – Dodgeball
4. “Into Slavery in Egypt” – Wheelbarrow race
5. “Reuben’s Lend a Hand” – 3-Legged race
6. Joseph Dreams – like Simon says
7. “My Brothers Took my Cool Coat and All I have Left is this Sack” – Sack Race
8. Lion Hunt – parachute game like Cat and Mouse
9. Lions and Lambs (Parachute game 2)
10. Survivor (self-explanatory).
Editor's Note by Wormy:
LDM's link leads to her other Joseph workshop lessons as well.
Lots of good ideas in there.
Below are two versions of Jeopardy submitted by members.
With our older children in Sunday school we have used a Jeopardy game in PowerPoint format, displayed on the wall using a projector. The template can be used for other topics by simply typing in other questions and answers. You just need to double-check to make sure that the links all remain correct (so that the answers match up with the questions).
I have attached our Joseph in Egypt Jeopardy game as a template if people are interested. (Click on the underlined words "Joseph Jeopardy.ppt" below.)
Once file is downloaded copy to a USB and then copy this file to your church computer(s).
In PowerPoint click on "Slideshow" on menu bar, then click on "From Beginning" icon.
How to play the game:
You can download a sound file of the Final Jeopardy music to play when you are using that question.
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Originally posted by member mabethea
This version of Jeopardy is easier for younger students, in that it is reversed game play, students are asked the question and then have to come up with answer. They can also look up the answers in Bibles if they need to, as scripture references are given.
Materials:
Lesson plan:
Open class with a prayer. (You may ask a child if they would like to pray.)
SAY: Today we are going to play “Joseph Jeopardy.”
Example: In what book of the Bible do we find Joseph’s story? (Genesis)
You will be able to look up the answers in the Bible.
In a minute I will divide all of you into ( 2 or 3) teams. Two or three teams should be formed by the teacher making sure each group contains a variety of ages.
Here are the rules for the game: (Read the rules below.)
Jeopardy Game rules:
SAY: The categories are: Who is it? That’s the Pits; Jail Time; Dream Time; Family Feud.
Do you have any questions? (Divide children into 2 or 3 groups depending on group size.) Now each group should choose a spokesperson. Allow children to choose. Teacher should silently choose a number from 1-10. Each spokesperson, pick a number from 1 to 10. The closest will go first. The first team should choose a 100 question from any category. Continue to play until all questions are revealed. The team with the most points gets their cookies/snack first.
Jeopardy Questions/Answers (print the attached PDF Game Cards on color printer)
Who is it?
100—Who was given a coat of many colors? Genesis 37:3 (Joseph)
200—Who was Joseph’s father? Genesis 37:1 (Jacob)
300—Who was Joseph’s youngest brother that Jacob did not send with the 10 brothers to Egypt? Genesis 42:4 (Benjamin)
400—Who was Joseph’s mother? Genesis 35:24 (Rachel)
500—In Egypt, to whom was Joseph sold as a slave? Genesis 39:1 (Potiphar)
That’s the Pits
100—When Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him, what did they plan to tell their father had happened to Joseph? Genesis 37:20(that a wild animal ate him)
200—Where did Joseph’s brothers throw him? Genesis 37:23-24 (into a deep well hole—a pit—a cistern)
300—Which brother planned to go back and rescue Joseph? Genesis 37:21 (Reuben)
400—Why didn’t Reuben get to save Joseph? Genesis 37:26-27 (The brothers sold him to some slave traders.)
500—How much did the brothers get from the slave traders for Joseph? Genesis 37:28 (twenty pieces of silver)
Jail Time
100—In Egypt, who tricked Joseph and caused him to be thrown into jail? Genesis 39:1 (Potiphar’s wife)
200—Why was Joseph put in charge of the other prisoners? Genesis 39:21-23 (The warden saw that God was with Joseph.)
300--What two men were in jail with Joseph? Genesis 40:1-3 (Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer)
400—After Joseph interpreted the dreams of the baker and cupbearer, how much longer was he in jail? Genesis 41:1 (two years)
500—Who told the Pharaoh about Joseph being able to interpret dreams? Genesis 41:9 (the cupbearer who had been in prison with Joseph)
Dream Time
100—In Joseph’s dreams about his brothers, what did the brothers’ bundles of wheat do? Genesis 37:7 (Bowed down to Joseph’s bundle of wheat.)
200—What did the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker mean? Genesis 40:12-13 (one would be returned to his job and the other would die.)
300—In the Pharaoh’s dream, how many years of famine was there going to be? Genesis 41:27 (7)
400—Who did Joseph tell Pharaoh had given him his dreams? Genesis 41:28 (God)
500—In Pharaoh’s dreams, how many cows were there in all? Genesis 41:1-3 (14)
Family Feud
100—Why were Joseph’s brothers mad at him? Genesis 37:4 (His father loved him the best)
200—How old was Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery? Genesis 37:2 (17)
300—What did Joseph put in Benjamin’s sack along with the grain? Genesis 44:2 (his silver cup)
400—Why did Joseph believe God allowed him to be sold into slavery? Genesis 45:5 (to save lives)
500—Which brother did Joseph order to be kept in jail until they came back with Benjamin? Genesis 42:24 (Simeon)
Joseph GAMES lessons/ideas found in Complete Lesson Sets here in the Joseph forum.
Games for Older Children: Jeopardy - link.
Use the game cards as 1) flip over to do a memory match, 2) match feast card to matching famine card, or 3) sort cards into a feast or famine pile.
While playing, talk about:
Life in a famine was hard. Joseph’s family needed food during the famine.
Why did God send Joseph to Egypt? (God sent Joseph to Egypt to save his family.)
Put the laundry baskets against one wall; put masking tape lines on the floor about 4 feet in front of them.
Say, “We are going to help Joseph fill his storehouse. He needed lots of food, like these beans, in order to feed all the people in Egypt. Line up behind the tape lines. One at a time, you will stand on the line and toss the beans into the basket to help Joseph fill the storehouse.” [Note: to make your four bags of Beans: take 8 heavy-quality plastic zippered sandwich bags, double bag to make 4 and fill each with dry beans—tape the plastic zippered bag closed.])
Everyone gets to try until they get all four bags into the basket.
[This game was a BIG hit and we played it every day the rest of the week!]
Explain that a silo is a place where a farmer stores grain and how Joseph stored grain so everyone could have enough food during the famine.
Procedure: Use a hula hoop as a silo. Tell the children to pretend they are seeds of grain. They must scatter around the room/playground and find a place to stand and wait until you call out.
Say: You are going to pretend to be Joseph gathering grain for Egypt. You will turn your back and close your eyes. When I call out, “Into the silo!” You must all run into the silo before you turn around and open your eyes (5 or 10 seconds later – count loudly to ten). Someone who doesn’t make it into the silo will be the next Joseph.
Show two cups or goblets. While the rest of the kids cover their eyes, send two of them to hide the cups. Then, signal the others to open their eyes and find the hidden items. Repeat, sending two different kids to hide the items.
Say: In our Bible story, Joseph hid money in his brother’s sacks and a cup in Benjamin’s bag. Joseph.
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